Media groups sue FBI over information related to unlocking of San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone

The FBI is being sued by the Associated Press, Vice Media and Gannett, in a bid to force it to reveal how it unlocked  an iPhone used by Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino shooters.

The justice department initially tried to force Apple to create custom software to unlock the device, but withdrew its case when a third party found a way to break into the phone without Apple's assistance (See: FBI paid under $1 mn to unlock San Bernardino shooter's iPhone ).

The case led to widespread debate about encryption, with politicians including president Obama arguing for exceptional access to encrypted devices for law enforcement and tech leaders like Apple CEO Tim Cook contending that attempts to roll back encryption would cause great harm to cyber security.

The media organisations asked for information about the exploit the FBI purchased to unlock the phone under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

The FBI denied the request, which led to the lawsuit being filed on Friday.

The FOIA requests called for ''basic contracting information'' on the exploit, which the suit referred to as one of the FBI's ''most publicly-discussed and controversial acquisitions.''

According to FBI director James Comey the exploit was purchased by the bureau for close to $1 million, but had not provided details as to the exact purchase amount and the seller.

The lawsuit charged that ''there is no lawful basis'' for the FBI to keep the records secret.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said yesterday that the FBI and the Obama administration had "tried to be as transparent as possible," but that "given the sensitive nature of the information, we've been quite limited in what we can discuss openly."